


Date Night

by kiki_92



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Anniversary, Bar Room Brawl, Cause Bandit has Problems(tm) but it ends well, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M, there's a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:40:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiki_92/pseuds/kiki_92
Summary: Date nights are supposed to be special, but this one could be remembered for all the wrong reasons...
Relationships: Dominic "Bandit" Brunsmeier/Marius "Jäger" Streicher
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> For [Olivar](https://twitter.com/Agasmask_man).
> 
> I encourage everyone to check out Olivar's part of the trade, [this lovely Tachanka/Kapkan piece](https://twitter.com/Agasmask_man/status/1363597959426842625), thank you so much!!
> 
> Also, a big thank you to the amazing [ToDragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToDragons/pseuds/ToDragons) and [Grain-Crain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grain_Crain) for fixing my mistakes and giving me ideas on how to improve the story <3

_ Bandit - 18:36  
_ _ Are u ready? I’m at the front door _

Jäger stared at his phone while a feeling of horror slowly crept over him. Checking the hour again on the upper corner of the screen, he realised that yes, it had been more than an hour since he came back from training. He totally forgot about the date, damn it.

In his own defense, Jäger would feebly point out they didn’t go on dates that often, so it just slipped his mind. Instead of getting dressed or preparing in any way, he had opened his laptop and fallen into a rabbit hole clicking on articles about space exploration and the new materials used for spacecrafts and satellites - goddamn Elon Musk! Jäger would love to get his hands on some of the blueprints and- Right, right, the date. Better to not make Bandit wait too much.

Without the helmet, protective vest, and gun holsters, Jäger’s usual training outfit was normal enough. It would probably pass as something a civilian would wear, wouldn’t it? He briefly entertained the idea of changing, but knowing Bandit they wouldn’t be going anywhere fancy enough to merit dressing up. And the Spongebob hoodie he got from the other German was strictly for being comfy at home, so Jäger didn’t really see the point in changing clothes for the date.

The impatient little shit that was his boyfriend messaged him again - Jäger could feel the phone buzzing in his pocket - so he dashed out of the apartment and into the street. As promised, Bandit was already waiting for him, reclined against his bike and typing something on the phone. It amused Jäger to notice Bandit was wearing the faded jeans from earlier and his trademark yellow striped leather jacket. Apparently both had the same idea regarding what kind of clothes they should wear, or perhaps Bandit had waited till the last minute too to get ready, just like him.

“There you are.” Bandit rarely smiled, he mostly smirked or grinned like a maniac. However, now he graced Jäger with a really brief yet breathtaking real smile, precious because of its rarity and how unguarded it was.

“What’s the plan, where are we going?” 

Jäger accepted the helmet Bandit handed him, deftly putting it on as Bandit did the same. “That’s a surprise, Mari.”

“You have no idea, do you?” Jäger climbed behind Bandit, and held onto his waist as he laughed, feeling the muscles move beneath the layers of clothing.

“As I said, a surprise.”

It wouldn’t be the first time they did that, wandering without a goal in mind other than being in each other’s company. However, that had been before, back when they seized any excuse possible to stay together a little longer, but didn’t dare question their feelings any further. Jäger remembered those days fondly, even if back then he’d been an anxious mess, worrying that Bandit would soon get tired of him, tell him he was too much. 

As it turned out, Bandit was quite happy to let him enthuse for hours about whatever issue Jäger wanted to talk about, and had no problems bluntly telling him to shut up if something bothered him. That was good, Jäger preferred people to be straightforward. Besides, Bandit found very pleasant ways to capture his attention if needed. He didn’t have much trouble either keeping up with Jäger’s fast paced mental connections during a conversation, and understood his passion for flying. To a certain extent, it wasn’t dissimilar to Bandit’s passion for his bike.

There was an incomparable sense of freedom when piloting, and yet Jäger sometimes felt glimpses of it in moments like this: just the two of them, wind whipping against their helmets, and the endless open road ahead. Jäger had assumed they would go to the nearest town - a village with pretensions, as Bandit called it once - but instead the bike kept ahead, bypassing their supposed destination, and didn't stop until they reached the next town. 

While small tended to mean boring, at least if one lived in such places, it was quite pretty. Picturesque even, although Jäger never quite understood if that one was honest praise or a backhanded compliment. It was also strange that Bandit wished to walk around with nothing to do, just eating ice-cream with him and observing the sunset. Not that it wasn't nice, because it was, very much so in fact, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was something else going on. 

“Dom, why are we here?” It was not the most diplomatic way of asking, but Jäger wanted a straight answer. After all, he was fine being his boyfriend’s alibi for some prank, but he would like to know when he was being used as such.

“Come on Mari, you know I don’t think about philosophical bullshit. If you want that kind of conversation, ask Maxim next time you see him.”

“No, I mean right here and now. On a date.” He was sure Bandit was being dense on purpose, and Jäger couldn’t hold back the slightly exasperated tone.

“I thought it would be appropriate,” Bandit answered, yet somehow still evading the crux of the question. Besides, the way he was looking at Jäger with a barely contained smirk didn’t allay his suspicions at all.

“Did you get in another prank war with James?” 

A bird twittered from a nearby tree, then it flew away after Bandit's loud bark of laughter. “You really have no idea, do you?”

The alarm bells in Jäger’s mind grew louder. Something was definitely going on. “Dom, I-”

“Let's go find something to eat. I'm starving,” Bandit neatly cut him off, so pleasant and nonchalant, as if he hadn’t been acting all suspicious moments ago.

Jäger was about to call bullshit on that, but he realised he was also hungry, despite the ice-cream they had. Finding a place to eat was quite easy if one wasn’t picky about how greasy the food was. It wasn’t a problem for Jäger, and Bandit seemed to have an iron stomach and be capable of eating or drinking anything. Perhaps the joint they picked wasn’t the classiest place, nor the sort of locale one would associate with eating out during a date, but there wasn’t much else where to pick from.

While the place wasn’t as seedy as Jäger imagined most road bars to be, it was like the decor was purposefully trying to imitate those places. That earned more than one comment from Bandit, endlessly mocking the choice and comparing it with the real deal. The only piece that didn’t garner a scathing remark was the pool table, which got a simple ‘not bad’ from him. So in “Bandit talk”, that meant he was pretty interested in it, and Jäger filed away that little tidbit of information for later.

Before he realised it, they had wolfed down the burgers they got, which were tastier than Jäger had hoped for, and they were on their third drink now, talking about billiards. He knew Bandit liked playing pool, but he never realised it was one of the few things from his real life that Bandit had been able to still enjoy without remembering the time when he was with the Hell’s Angels. The game sounded easy in theory but potentially hard to master, and that was exactly why Jäger was drawn to it. He proposed to play a round - even if he didn’t yet know how to play -, mainly because he always enjoyed a challenge, but also because it would make Bandit happy in this case.

“So having good aim is crucial, you say? Doesn’t sound very hard,” Jäger mused aloud. “Can you teach me?”

He wouldn’t have asked if there were more people around, but since the pool table was deserted, Jäger didn’t feel bad for hogging it for themselves. Bandit took his sweet time explaining the cue sticks, the different balls, and hand positions to have a good stroke. The most surprising part was Bandit  _ not  _ making a single joke or innuendo with those terms. What wasn’t much of a surprise was Jäger losing against Bandit when they finally played. However, he was confident now he got the hang of the game, and asked for a rematch.

As the hour grew late, the bar slowly filled with more people. Not many, if compared to other places Jäger had been, but the difference was noticeable. Some of the newcomers gathered around the pool table, watching them play. It was fine, Jäger felt more confident in his skills now, so he didn't mind the audience. If there was one thing Jäger hated was to fail, and even more when his failures were made public. And while there was no way he would be as good as Bandit, who had years of experience, at least he wouldn't embarrass himself. 

However, not all the people gathered around them were interested in the outcome of the match. One of the guys, a man wider than Tachanka and with a beard to rival Kaid’s, kept staring only at Jäger like he was a piece of meat on display. It made him uncomfortable, especially when he had to bend down to hit the balls. Worse even, Bandit noticed the dude’s behavior too. It was easy to tell by his expression what he was thinking about, he looked like he wanted to tear off someone's head. Nevertheless, Bandit managed to contain himself for two more turns, until the guy whispered something to one of his friends and leered at Jäger. Bandit snapped. 

“The fuck are you looking at?” 

“What is it to you?” The guy straightened to his full height, but if he thought that would intimidate Bandit, he had gravely misjudged the situation. “Got a problem with me?”

Jäger  _ felt _ the tension spike up at those taunting words. Despite being able to keep his cool in life or death situations, he knew Bandit could easily snap if someone mocked him. And right now, his expression was thunderous and he was gripping the cue stick so harshly that his knuckles turned white. 

“It's not worth it,” Jäger mumbled, touching Bandit's arm. It was both an attempt at calming down his boyfriend, and positioning himself to restraint Bandit if things turned ugly. Jäger wasn’t afraid of Bandit getting hurt, he knew his teammate better than that! He was more scared for the other guy, he knew that even if he was strong as a mountain, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the other German. “Let's go.”

Against all odds, it worked. Bandit let go of the cue and, with one last murderous glare at the offending dude, he turned to leave. 

“Pathetic,” the bearded guy spat out. “White knighting to get some ass, and he doesn't even have the balls to face me. He goes running after his little boyfriend, scared of -”

In a fast as lightning move, Bandit picked one of the balls from the billiards table and threw it at the man’s face. He didn’t have time to dodge and got hit between the eyes, same as he couldn’t evade the punch that came right after. The hit sent him stumbling backwards, spittle and blood flying from the impact. It all happened so fast, one moment Jäger was sighing in relief and dragging Bandit away, and the next Dom whirled around and punched the guy in the face. After that it was pure chaos. 

Bandit kept hitting that asshole like a possessed man, while the guys' friends screamed yet didn't dare come near them. In the middle of that cacophony, Jäger was certain he heard a crunch when Bandit broke the guy's nose, and more blood dribbled down his face, sticking to Bandit's fists. And through all that Jäger stared, horrified, worrying about how the hell this was going to end. 

He pleaded with Bandit to stop, again and again, urging him to leave. Not out of remorse or a strong sense of compassion. No, Jäger's main concern was far more selfish; he was sure someone would call the police and Bandit would be in serious trouble then. Jäger tried to pry him off the other man, but Bandit either didn’t hear or ignored all the “stop” or “that’s enough” both Jäger and the crowd were shouting. When he tried to physically pry off the other German from the fight, Bandit shoved him away roughly, making Jäger fall on his ass. For a moment, he thought Bandit was too far gone to recognize him, since he turned around as if to fight him too, and fear gripped Jäger’s chest for a few moments. Thankfully, seeing him sprawled on the floor seemed to finally snap Bandit out from his violent trance. He stepped away from the other man and helped Jäger up while the crowd looked at him like one might look at a wild beast. Nobody dared to approach them, though. He looked numb, not indifferent at the situation but painfully used to it, cleaning the blood from his hands with a napkin.

They fled, there was no other way to describe it. Bandit let Jäger drag him out of the bar and towards the spot where he parked his bike. In Jäger's opinion, it was a miracle how Bandit could drive as if nothing had happened, he was still shaking from the experience. Not because of the violence, Jäger had seen far worse. It was how calm and detached Bandit had been that was jarring to him, and the thought he could get in serious trouble. Perhaps he deserved it, since the response to the other guy's taunts has been extreme, and yet… there had been no hesitation on Jäger’s side, his only thought had been to get them both out of that damned bar as fast as humanly possible.

A stifling silence hung over them, only broken when Jäger insisted on Bandit coming home with him. Usually Bandit would invite himself into the apartment with the ease of someone who knew he was always welcome, but this time he didn’t move from the bike until Jäger asked him to come. Even now, Bandit sat in complete silence on the couch, stubbornly looking away from him, while Jäger cleaned and bandaged the cuts and abrasions in his knuckles and fingers.

“Are you okay?” It was a stupid question and Jäger knew it, but he hated how silent Bandit was and that was the first thing that came to his mind. As all answers Bandit kept as he was, eerily quiet. Sighing in disappointment, Jäger gathered the courage to ask, “Why did you do it? Did you believe what he was saying, that you… that you were a coward?”

Bandit looked at him, eyes devoid of any recognizable emotion, and Jäger feared he might have been a bit tactless with his question. However, there was no outburst, or outraged denial, or anything really. In fact, it was so quiet he could hear the faint buzzing from the lightbulbs. Eventually, when Jäger was convinced he wouldn’t get anything out of him, Bandit answered.

“I lost myself.” He spoke faintly, but it carried loud enough in the dead of the night, since there was barely any other sound. “This is who I am, Marius. I learnt it was to kill or be killed, act before others could do harm, and that brutality was efficient. The saddest part it’s that it is efficient. That fucker shut up and I won, so yeah. This is how I work now, and it won’t change. No matter how much I tried, I let go of my fake identity, but I can’t let go of this. It’s part of me now. Are you scared?”

Jäger didn’t know what to say, he had no advice nor did he think any platitudes would work here, but he was relieved Bandit didn’t try to excuse his actions saying he did it to protect him. However, he knew the answer to that last question, and that was what he answered to. He shook his head. “Not of you, but for you.”

“This is why I rejected you the first time you asked,” Bandit confessed in a pained tone. “Not because I wasn’t already interested in you. I was. Very much so. But you’re a sweet guy and I’m not sure I can keep you happy, Marius. You deserve the world, or at least somebody who would give you everything; not a wreck who fucks up an anniversary date like this.”

There was so much packed in that little speech, and yet Jäger’s focus latched on the last part. “Anniversary date?”

Was this what Bandit meant when he was teasing him about ‘having no idea’? Now that he thought about it, Jäger was almost certain they had ice-cream one of the first times they went out alone, without IQ or Blitz tagging along. It sounded a tad too sentimental, but Bandit had some surprising depths at times.

“Dom, for what it’s worth, I enjoyed it a lot until… I had a great time with you until things went south.” That seemed to lift Bandit’s dark mood, at least momentarily, but it turned serious again when Jäger grabbed his hands, careful to not press on bandaged parts. “I know you struggle with your past, but you don’t have to shoulder all of your troubles alone. I am here. Or you can talk with Monika, or Elias, if you’re more comfortable with that. Or Maxim and Jordan.”

This level of trust came easily to Jäger, although he knew it wasn’t the same for Bandit. He could only hope that Bandit’s pride wouldn’t get in the way of him reaching out to people and getting some help. To be fair, after this conversation he was pretty sure Bandit wasn’t all that happy with his reaction either, but some doubts lingered in his mind, and Jäger held his breath until Bandit answered.

“I will try.” Good enough, Jäger would take this concession for now. “I really should talk to Harry about this, right?”

No one would accuse Bandit of not putting effort, and that was why Jäger was so baffled by the low opinion Bandit had of himself in certain regards. He made Jäger happy, incredibly so. And even if there were bumps along the road, it was worth it. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone saying otherwise, not even Bandit himself.

They ended the night in bed, too emotionally wrung out to do anything more than lying next to each other. In an inversion of their usual behaviour, it was Bandit who got closer to him, putting his arm around Jäger’s waist and resting his head on the engineer’s arm. On his part, Jäger sank into the embrace, ready to fall asleep just like that. 

Perhaps they could spend the morning properly celebrating their anniversary, as their date should have ended tonight if things went differently. A new day with a much sweeter beginning. For now, falling asleep in Bandit’s arms was a good way to end the day, and something he could get used to.

**Author's Note:**

> You can see what I'm currently up to on [my tumblr](http://r6shippingdelivery.tumblr.com/) and [my twitter](https://twitter.com/kikipeachywitch) !


End file.
